Motiv8 Investments LLC Buys 1,192 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Motiv8 Investments LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 20.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,953 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 23,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.0% in the third quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. now owns 1,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 60,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,895,000 after buying an additional 2,955 shares in the last quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the third quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 25,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,897,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 80,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,116,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of MRK stock traded down $1.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.98. 9,625,498 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,795,396. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $263.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $113.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.